1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an integrated circuit card, more particularly to an integrated circuit card with fingerprint verification capability.
2. Description of the Related Art
At present, people have no need to prepare a lot of cash when making purchases, but instead use plastic currencies, such as a credit card, a bank card and so on. Because of the convenience of plastic currencies, it is not uncommon for one to have at least one plastic currency and other cards, such as an identification card and a pass card. When the cards are misplaced or stolen, the owner of the cards must take the risk of misappropriation of the cards.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an integrated circuit card with fingerprint verification capability which can reduce the risks involved when the card is stolen or misplaced, and which enhances convenience and security when making network transactions.
According to the present invention, an integrated circuit card is accessed by a card reader that is capable of establishing a communications link with a host computer. The integrated circuit card comprises a card body, a memory device mounted on the card body, a fingerprint sensor mounted on the card body, a card reader interface circuit mounted on the card body, and a processing unit mounted on the card body and connected to the memory device, the fingerprint sensor and the card reader interface circuit. The memory device stores fingerprint reference data obtained by scanning a fingerprint of an assigned user, and card information therein. The fingerprint sensor scans a fingerprint of a holder of the card body, and generates fingerprint scan data. The card reader interface circuit is activable so as to communicate with the card reader. The processing unit receives the fingerprint scan data from the fingerprint sensor, and compares the fingerprint scan data with the fingerprint reference data in the memory device to verify if the holder of the card body is the assigned user. The processing unit activates the card reader interface circuit for exchanging the card information with the host computer via the card reader upon verifying that the holder of the card body is the assigned user.